1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a register in which a weighing apparatus such as a scale is connected to a processing apparatus such as a personal computer, an office computer, a store controller and an electronic cash register. More particularly, the invention relates to a register for registering sales information such as the number and a sales total of transacted articles.
2. Description of Related Art
Articles sold at a store are largely classified into those whose weight is to be measured by a weighing apparatus so that the sale prices of the articles are to be registered based on the weight, e.g., meat and vegitables, and those which are sold in a unit of the number (i.e., referred to as "scale registering prohibited articles"). Further, those articles which are to be weighed are largely divided into those whose weight must not fail to be measured (hereinafter "scale registering compulsory article") and those which are sold by weight or wrapped and sold in blocks of a certain number of articles (hereinafter "scale registering uncompulsory article").
Customarily, in a store which sells articles which are to be weighed, an electronic cash register (hereinafter simply "register") is disposed which is connected to a weighing apparatus such as a scale. An operator of the register puts an article to be weighed on a weighing plate of the scale so that the register registers the weight of the article.
FIG. 11 is a view showing operation procedures of a conventional register. In FIG. 11, an article with a PLU (Price Look Up) code "0004" is a scale registering uncompulsory article and the unit price of the article is $2.00/kg. An article with a PLU code "0003" is a scale registering compulsory article and the unit price of the article is $1.00/kg.
First, the operator places the article with the PLU code "0004" on the weighing plate of the scale and pushes a scale key 71. In response, the weight of the article is read from the scale and displayed in a display part of the register as indicated at reference numeral 76.
Following this, if a "4" key 72 is pushed using numeric keys, the PLU code "4" of the article is displayed as indicated at reference numeral 77. Further, by pushing a PLU key 73, the PLU code is ascertained as "0004" and a multiplication result of the weight and the unit price "2.50" is displayed as indicated at reference numeral 78, and the weight, the unit price, the name and the sales price of the article are printed on a receipt and the like as indicated at reference numeral 79.
Next, if the scale key 71 is pushed after placing the article with the PLU code "0003," a scale registering compulsory article, on the weighing plate of the scale, the weight of the article is read from the scale and displayed as indicated at reference numeral 80. By thereafter pushing a "3" key 74, the PLU code of the article is displayed as indicated at reference numeral 81. The PLU key 73 is then pushed so that the FLU code is ascertained as "0003" and a multiplication result of the weight and the unit price "1.50" is displayed as indicated at reference numeral 82, whereby the weight, the unit price, the name and the sale price of the article are printed as indicated at reference numeral 83. At last, a "CA/AT" key 75 is pushed and the sales total of the articles is printed as indicated at reference numeral 84.
Thus, the conventional register requires that the scale key is pushed to read the weight of an article from the scale independently of whether the article is a scale registering uncompulsory article or a scale registering compulsory article. Hence, as the number of articles to be weighed increases, labor of operating the register increases and registering time becomes longer. In the case where the scale key fails to be pushed, the registering time will become even longer.